Solano County Court Clerk

Clerk of the Superior Court vs County Clerk

Solano County splits clerk work between two offices that share part of a name but do very different jobs. The Clerk of the Superior Court keeps court files and works for the trial court. The County Clerk works for the county and runs license and registry programs that never go through a judge. Many people show up at the wrong building, so the line matters.

Court files like criminal cases, civil suits, family law petitions, probate matters, and sealed records live with the Clerk of the Superior Court at the Hall of Justice. Marriage licenses, fictitious business name (FBN) statements, civil marriage ceremonies, notary public oaths, process server registrations, and similar filings live with the County Clerk at the Solano County Government Center on Texas Street.

For the County Clerk side of marriage licenses and related vital paperwork, see the marriage and divorce records page. The rest of this page covers the Clerk of the Superior Court.

Office Locations and Hours

The Clerk of the Superior Court runs counter service from two main branches. Fairfield handles cases filed in Fairfield, Suisun City, Vacaville, Dixon, and Rio Vista. Vallejo handles cases filed in Vallejo and Benicia. The court tells visitors to call ahead and use the right branch, since court files sit at the branch where the case was heard.

The image below is from the Solano court online services page, which links to clerk appointments, case search, the court calendar, and self-help.

Use the court calendar and online services hub to set a clerk appointment before a counter visit. Drop-in hours are short, and the line can move slowly during arraignment days.

Record Search Hours

Clerk record searches run Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The court is closed on weekends and on court holidays. The court asks that researchers come during these set hours and not at the end of the day, since each search and copy job has to be assessed in advance.

Holidays follow the state court calendar. The court closes for New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Cesar Chavez Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving (and the day after), and Christmas Day. Always check the court calendar before a visit. See the Solano court calendar for the current hearing schedule and to confirm any closure.

How to Request a Certified Copy

A certified copy is a court-signed copy with a stamp or seal that says the copy matches the original. Banks, schools, federal agencies, embassies, and many state agencies need certified copies for proof of judgment, name change, divorce, probate, and similar court actions. Plain copies do not carry the same legal weight.

The clerk uses Local Form 4021, Request for Records Search and Copies. Each request goes to one division. Civil, Fairfield Criminal, Vallejo Criminal, and Family all take separate forms.

1. Identify the case. Pull the case number from a prior notice, the public portal, or the court calendar. If the case number is not known, gather the full name, date of birth, and approximate filing time period.
2. Fill out Form 4021 for the right division. Mark whether you want plain copies, certified copies, or both. Note the document type, hearing date, or specific filing if known.
3. Pay the assessed fees in advance. The clerk reviews the request and bills search, copy, and certification fees per the state fee schedule. Make checks or money orders payable to the Solano Superior Court.
4. Submit the form in person at the Fairfield Hall of Justice or the Vallejo Solano Justice Building, or by mail to the branch listed on the form. Plain copies of divorce judgments by mail run $15.
5. Pick up at the counter or wait for the mail return. Counter pickup is faster. Mail return depends on staff workload and copy volume.

For criminal records, the court keeps a separate guide on the Criminal Records, Fees and Forms page with case prefixes and record review hours.

Local Form 4021 Field Inventory

Form 4021 is short, but the court asks for enough detail to route the request and bill the fees. Fill out every line that applies, since a missing case number or party name slows things down at the counter. The table below maps the field labels on the current revision of the form.

Case Number Prefixes by Branch

The first letters of a Solano case number tell the clerk which branch holds the file. This matters because court files sit at the branch where the case was heard. Send the Form 4021 to the wrong branch and the clerk will route or return it, which adds days to the wait.

For deeper criminal record steps, see the Solano criminal records page. For the wider court picture, see the Solano Superior Court page.

Court Record Fees

Court copy, certification, and search fees in California follow Government Code section 70626 and related fee statutes set by the Legislature and the Judicial Council. The clerk posts the current schedule at the counter and on the criminal records page. Some research line items, like a record search longer than ten minutes, carry a fixed fee in Solano.

Where an exact fee is not posted, the clerk applies the current statewide schedule. Fee waivers may be available for low-income requesters using Judicial Council form FW-001 and related forms. See the Government Code 70626 section text for the legal source of the schedule.

Family Law Copies and Criminal Records

The Family Law Division sits at the Hall of Justice, 600 Union Avenue, Fairfield. The division handles divorce, legal separation, custody, support, paternity, and domestic violence cases. Each line of the division has its own phone, and the right number speeds the call. Mail requests for divorce records go through the same Form 4021 process.

• Family Law Division Clerk: (707) 207-7340.
• Court Services: (707) 207-7344.
• CCRC Scheduling: (707) 207-7347.
• Family Law Facilitator (free self-help): see the Solano Legal Access Center page.
• Divorce judgment certified copy by mail: $15 with check or money order made out to the Solano Superior Court.

Criminal records work runs through the same clerk window but a different staff group. The court asks for a name, date of birth, and case number if known. Bench warrant status is checked through the Solano Superior Court Portal. For broader criminal record steps and prefix detail, the Criminal Records, Fees and Forms page is the official starting point. The Family Law forms and fees page covers e-filing and drop-box rules for family matters.

County Clerk Services

The County Clerk inside the Solano Treasurer-Tax Collector-County Clerk department is the office most people mean when they say "county clerk." This office does not hold court case files. It does handle a list of license and registry filings that the state assigns to the county.

The image below is from the official Solano County Clerk page, which lists the full set of clerk services.

Services at the County Clerk office include:

• Public and confidential marriage licenses (see the marriage license page).
• Civil marriage ceremonies by appointment.
• Fictitious business name (FBN) statement filings.
• Notary public oaths and bonds.
• Process server, legal document assistant, and unlawful detainer assistant registrations.
• Professional photocopier registration.

The County Clerk is at 675 Texas Street, Suite 1900, Fairfield, CA 94533, phone (707) 784-7485. Hours are posted on the department site. For marriage records and related certified copies, see the marriage and divorce records page.

Recorder Vital Records

The Solano Assessor/Recorder, in the same Government Center campus, holds vital records for events that took place in the county. Births in Solano, deaths in Solano, and marriage licenses issued in Solano all certify out of the Recorder Division.

The image below is from the Recorder Division page, which lists real property and vital record services.

Vital Records counter: 675 Texas Street, Suite 2700, Fairfield, CA 94533. Phone (707) 784-6294. Hours Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Birth certificates cost $34, death certificates $26, and marriage certificates $19. Solano only certifies records for events that happened in Solano County. For records from another county, contact that county's recorder or the California Department of Public Health. More on broader records is on the Solano public records page.

Public Access Laws and Confidentiality

California court records are public by default, but several rules and statutes carve out limits. The clerk applies these limits at the counter and in the portal. Knowing the rule that covers a file helps when a request is denied or a record is sealed.

• California Rule of Court 2.503 sets electronic access to trial court records, including which case types can be searched remotely.
• Rule of Court 2.504 says an electronic record is not the official court record unless electronically certified by the clerk.
• Rule of Court 2.550 sets the standards for sealing court records, and Rule 2.551 sets the procedure for filing a sealing motion.
• Family Code section 511 restricts confidential marriage license records to the spouses or by court order.
• Welfare and Institutions Code section 827 makes juvenile case files confidential and limits who can view them.

Sealed cases, juvenile files, adoption records, and certain mental health records do not show up in the public portal. The clerk can confirm whether a case exists in some sealed contexts but cannot release the file. For probate-related access, see the Solano probate records page. For the wider court file flow, see the Solano court records page.